Birthday Parties
by orangepencils
Summary: Some people went crazy with preparations during the Christmas holidays. Others went mental during the Thanksgiving season, but for one Arthur Kirkland, July was one hell of a crazy month. Arthur, Francis, Alfred and Matthew.
1. À la Canadienne

**Birthday Parties**

**À la Canadienne**

**231**

**I just find that family stories are amazingly funny and cute. I prefer the pairing of UKxUSA, but for some reason having UK and France as the parents and USA and Canada as the kids always brightens my day. This also came to me when my friend and I realized that there were many Hetalia birthdays in July. The rest as they say is history. OH, and there will be four chapters to this!**

**Disclaimer: Homework be damned.**

Birthday Parties

À la Canadienne

Some people went crazy with preparations during the Christmas holidays. Others went mental during the Thanksgiving season, but for one Arthur Kirkland, July was one hell of a crazy month. It just so happened that everyone that he cared for celebrated their birthday in this month. It wasn't as though the celebrations were scattered throughout the month, no, they were mostly back-to-back.

His youngest son was the first to get celebrated. Matthew's birthday was on the first of July and Arthur had been working on the celebration for a while now. Seeing as he had been banned from the kitchen, Francis and Alfred had left him in charge of the organization. Arthur didn't mind. After all, who would want to be pestered on the fact that his cooking was the equivalent of mud? And secretly, he liked the atmosphere that would reign over the kitchen when Francis cooked.

So while his living companion and their eldest were busy in the kitchen baking the cake, Arthur was adding the finishing touches to Matthew's birthday present from him. The birthday present in itself had been hard to come up with. What did one give to a nine year old boy? He had finally come up with the idea of making Matthew a stuffed polar bear that he would make with his own bare hands.

Of course, embroidery and actual sewing were two different things. He had spent many hours on the bear and he now had bandages on his fingers from the number of times he had pricked himself.

Arthur finished stuffing the bear and then stitched it closed. He found a nice red ribbon and tied it around the bear's neck. He looked at the finished product and smiled. He had done a fine job, if he could say so himself.

Arthur found the box he had picked and wrapped it up nicely. Once the wrapping paper was set and the party ribbon had been tied up in a nice, complex bow, the man put the present away for now and went to see how his partner and eldest were doing with the cake.

Francis and Alfred were adding the finishing touches to the cake when Arthur walked in. The cake was made of pancakes, crème Chantilly and fruit. There were at least twenty or so pancakes and between each layer, there was the filling of the cream with the fruit. It was quite a stunning cake and Arthur knew that he would have never managed to do something so spectacular.

"I made the decorations on top, look!" Alfred said when he noticed that his father had been watching them. Arthur walked to the kitchen counter and saw the puffs of whipped cream that were on the edge of the top later. In the middle, there was a picture made with icing that represented the younger boy. The words "Bonne fête Mathieu" were written in elegant cursive handwriting, which he recognized as being Francis' writing, on a "pâte d'amande" tablet. He then watched as Francis added the liquid sugar in elegant gestures so that it could harden and give a crystallized effect.

"You did a fine job, Al." Arthur said patting his head affectionately.

"Tu es un vrai professionnel."/ _"You are a real professional."_ Francis added with a soft smile. Alfred beamed at them both.

"So, shall we start this celebration?" Arthur asked. The other two nodded and he went to get the birthday boy who was reading in the study.

Matthew was all excited about the party. He couldn't wait to have cake and open his presents. Every year, his parents managed to outdo themselves and he couldn't wait to see what they had done this year.

Arthur smiled proudly when he saw Matthew's eyes widen with surprise and joy when he walked into the kitchen and saw the many different dishes that were on the table.

"C'est fantastique! Thank you!"/ _"It's fantastic!..."_ The boy exclaimed. He sat in his regular chair at the table and started pulling food towards him.

"Wait until you see the cake, Matt. Papa and me made it awesome!" Alfred told his brother, flashing him a grin. The adults took their seats as well and soon everyone was enjoying the meal and having a merry good time.

Once the dishes were cleared, Francis went to get the cake while Alfred got the presents. Arthur killed the lights and soon, the three of them were singing happy birthday to Matthew who was clapping his hands to the rhythm of the song.

"Papa, tu as fait tout ça pour moi?"/ _"Papa, you made all that for me?"_ Matthew asked when he saw the cake. Arthur could see him salivating at the sight.

"J'ai aidé too, you know."/ _"I helped…"_ Alfred said, but his brother wasn't paying much attention to anything but the wonderfully decorated and appetizing looking pancake cake.

"Juste pour toi, mon trésor."/ _"Just for you, son."_ Francis replied with a tender smile. He set the cake in front of the birthday boy and the family watched as the youngest member of their family made a wish and blew the candles.

While Arthur cut the cake, (it was the only thing that the rest of the family judged he could do well), Alfred handed his brother the birthday presents.

Matthew eagerly removed the paper of the first present and he soon found a book and a handmade card from his brother.

"Thanks, Al!" The birthday boy beamed. He put his new book aside and took the next box. He tore at the paper just as enthusiastically and found some new paintbrushes, paints and a few empty canvases. The smile on his face got even wider.

"Merci, papa!"/ _"Thank you, papa!"_ Matthew told Francis as he hugged him around the waist.

"Mais de rien."/ "You're welcome." The older man replied as he hugged back. Matthew walked back to his chair and took the last box on the table. He undid the golden coloured bow and then removed the red wrapping paper. He opened the lid of the box and pulled out the stuffed bear. He looked at it for a moment before his face became illuminated with joy.

"You made this, just for me?" Matthew asked incredulously as he walked to his other parental figure.

"Of course. Happy Birthday, Matthew." The boy hugged him as well before going to eat his cake. Arthur watched his family and couldn't help the proud smile that came to his face. He didn't see Francis approaching until he felt an arm around his waist.

"Nous avons fait du bon travail, non?"/ _"We did some good work, no?"_ He whispered in Arthur's ear. The Englishman tried to wiggle away, but Francis' grip around his waist was firm. Finally, Arthur gave up and settled by putting his head on the Frenchman's shoulder.

"For now. You can tell me how fine of a job I've done when the month is over." Francis simply smiled and kissed the shorter man's cheek. Arthur blushed a very dark shade of red, but he remained where he was.

"Ne t'inquiètes pas, mon coeur, tu fais toujours du bon travail."/ _"Don't worry, my love, you always do good work."_ He murmured to Arthur who only blushed even more. The two of them stayed in their embrace as they watched the children play together. Arthur smiled to himself; one birthday down, two more to go.

**To Be Continued…**

**So, three guesses to who's the next birthday boy. (It's pretty obvious ahaha.) Ah, I love being multilingual. It's such fun! ~Vents, teehee.**

**Started writing: November 13****th**** 2009, 8:53am**

**Finished writing: November 13****th**** 2009, 7:57pm**

**Started typing: November 14****th**** 2009, 10:26pm**

**Finished typing: November 14****th**** 2009, 11:20pm**


	2. American Style

**Birthday Parties **

**Chapter II: American Style**

**I was disappointed by the lack of reviews for chapter one, but pleased by the numerous favourites and alerts I got. Please review! I know Canada doesn't get much love, but do it for America? Oh, and I apologize for the overwhelming amount of French. I just couldn't help myself. **

**Disclaimer: Three is done and four is almost finished.**

Birthday Parties

American Style

The morning after Matthew's birthday party, Arthur woke up bright and early in order to continue working on Alfred's birthday present. The man took out the wooden box that contained the present and set it on the desk in his bedroom. He tried to be as quiet as possible since Francis was still sleeping soundly. He sat down, took out his necessary tools and then removed each of the twelve different items from the box.

They were twelve wooden soldiers and they weren't the average, ordinary twelve wooden soldiers. Each one of them had been handcrafted by Arthur himself and polished with love and care. It had taken him months to make these. The details in each piece were probably what made them so unique. There was the general of one army with a feathered hat and here was a simple soldier holding out his musket. The twelve soldiers were mostly finished. There were only three that needed to be painted and then varnished. Arthur took out his smallest paintbrush and started working.

He was so entranced in his work that he never heard Francis getting up from the bed and walking up behind him. He only reacted when he felt the Frenchman's arms come around his shoulders. Arthur jumped at the contact and almost painted the invading army's general's face green.

"Bon matin, mon coeur."/ _"Good morning, my love."_ Francis said as he placed a lavish kiss on the British man's cheek, causing him to blush furiously.

"You could have said something, you twat! You nearly caused me to completely ruin Alfred's present." He pointed his paintbrush to Francis in what he thought was a menacing way, but the older man simply took the weapon in his own hand before sitting on his companion's lap.

"Mon cher, il est bien trop tôt pour faire quoi que ce soit. Revient te coucher."/ _"My dear, it is way too early to be doing anything. Come back and sleep."_ He whispered in Arthur's ear.

"No, I have to do this now or else, by the time I get to the varnish, it will be your birthday." He grumbled as he tried to reach for his paintbrush, but Francis' arms were longer than his.

"Que tu peux être marabout! Je te donne le pinceau à une seule condition."/ _"You can be so pessimistic! I'll give you back the paintbrush on one condition."_ The elder of the two said with a smirk.

"I'll probably end up regretting this, but what is your condition?"

"Tu me dis le mot magique et je veux un baiser."/ _"You tell me the magic word and I want a kiss."_ Francis could see Arthur fuming, but the Frenchman found this highly amusing.

"Please." He made to reach for the paintbrush, but Francis pulled it even further away.

"Ah non, ce n'est pas le bon mot."/ "_Ah no, that's not the right word."_

"You are an impossible git set out to ruin our son's birthday." Arthur said back.

"J'attends toujours…"/ _"I'm still waiting…"_

"Fine. S'il te plait."/ _"Please."_ Arthur said in his thick accented French that Francis simply found endearing.

"Et que fais-tu de mon baiser?"/ _"And what of my kiss?"_ He could see the Englishman turn scarlet, but he still straightened out in his chair and quickly kissed the older man's lips. Francis smiled approvingly and gave him the paintbrush before getting up.

"Tu vois, ce n'était pas si compliqué. Je t'appelle pour le déjeuner, d'accord?"/ _"See, that wasn't so complicated. I'll call you for breakfast, okay?"_

"Yes, just get out of here, please." Francis blew him a kiss and skipped out of the room humming some French song to himself. Arthur focused on his task at hand once he was sure that he wouldn't be bothered anymore.

It was already the beginning of July 4th and Arthur was almost done with Alfred's present. The varnish had finally dried up and even though it was two am, he wasn't going to bed until each soldier was put into the wooden box and then wrapped up. The hardest part so far had been to put those tiny wooden weapons in each of the soldiers' hands and to make sure that they didn't fall out. His own hands ached from the many splinters that he had accumulated, but they didn't really matter to him. He had suffered through worse. He finally put the last of the soldiers away when he heard Francis patter from behind.

"Tu te donnes trop de mal, mon cœur. Alfred t'aurais aimé même si tu ne lui avais pas fait une douzaine de soldats en bois."/ _"You give yourself too much trouble, my love. Alfred would have still loved you even if you didn't make him a dozen of wooden soldiers."_ The Frenchman said as he hid a yawn behind his hand.

"It's what I wanted to do for him. After all, Al did express the desire to have some wooden soldiers to play with and since you banned me from the kitchen, I figured that I could dirty my hands in some other way." Arthur said as he wrapped the box up.

"Tu es un perfectionniste, tu le sais? Allez, c'est assez pour ce soir, viens te coucher, je suis mort de fatigue."/ _"You are a perfectionist, you know? Come on, that's enough for tonight, come and sleep, I'm dead tired."_ He tried to pull Arthur towards the bed, but the younger man still had to put a bow on the box.

"Go ahead, I never told you to stay up and wait for me." Arthur told him as he tied the bow.

"Arthur la confiture! Tu seras ma mort."/ _"Arthur the jam!_ _(A.N. It's a literal translation, but in the French version, it's a nickname of sorts. I first heard it when I was in grade one or two and it stayed with me.)_ _You will be my death."_ Arthur laughed and finally went to get some sleep much to Francis' delight.

Arthur found it amusing to find Francis still deep in sleep hours later. It was almost as if Francis had been the one working hours on end and not the other way around. He tried to wake up the sleeping man, but Francis was a heavy sleeper. The younger man let him be and dressed for the day. When he got downstairs, he found Matthew at the kitchen table eating his breakfast with his stuffed polar bear, but the birthday boy was nowhere to be seen.

"He's outside riding his horse." The boy replied to his father's silent question. "Where's Papa?" He asked in return.

"He's still-" Arthur was going to say "sleeping", but just then, the two of them heard the very distinctive yelling of Francis getting up and realizing that it was late and that he had a dozen of things to do.

"Sacrebleu! Non mais! Arthur, tu n'aurais pas pu me réveiller espèce de crétin anglais!"/ _"Damn it! No way! Arthur, you could have woken me up you damn English cretin!"_ He bellowed as he ran down the stairs, half dressed. He waved at Matthew before running to the stove and starting to take out the ingredients for the evening's meal.

"It's not for lack of trying, you wanker. It's not my fault if you sleep like a deaf man." The Brit replied.

"Si tu n'étais pas resté éveillé jusqu'aux petites heures du matin, j'aurais pu dormir paisiblement."/ _"If you wouldn't have stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, I could have slept peacefully."_

"I told you that you didn't have to wait for me. It's your own damn fault." Francis didn't say anything and simply grumbled to himself as he started mixing in the spices with the ground meat. As much as both parents had tried to convince Alfred otherwise, the boy had insisted that he wanted hamburgers for his birthday. It had been an amusing spectacle to see between Francis who wanted to make him the finest of dishes and Alfred who wanted his greasy burgers. Finally, the two had settled that as long as Francis could actually make the patties, he would stop complaining. Alfred had been more than pleased.

Dinnertime had finally arrived and the small family was ready to celebrate the birthday boy. Alfred had been pestering them for the past few hours or so about how great it was going to be and had asked them what his presents were. He had finally stopped when Arthur told him that it was impolite to ask what other people had gotten him.

Arthur watched as Francis brought in the burgers and Matthew brought in the fries. They set them on the table and once everyone was seated, they started digging in. Alfred loved the food and Francis couldn't help but smirk at that and say that it was due to his superior culinary skills.

When they were done with the food, Francis went to get the cake that he had baked a few hours earlier and lit up the candles. The cake was a stunning Boston cream pie with dark chocolate drizzle on top. He had made the finest custard that he knew how to make for the filling between the two layers of cake. Matthew brought in the presents and set them next to his brother while Arthur watched them.

Once the candles were blown out, Arthur took the knife from his overeager son's hands and started cutting pieces out as he watched his eldest rip through the wrapping paper of his first gift. He was such a contrast from his brother, he noted. The box opened, Alfred found a brand new leather cowboy hat from Francis. Lately, the boy had been having one of those fazes.

"Génial! Merci Papa!"/ _"Awesome! Thanks dad!"_ The older man smiled approvingly and ruffled his hair affectionately. Alfred put on his new hat and took the second box that came from Matthew. He quickly tore at the paper before finding a painting depicting himself riding on a majestic white horse. He was wearing a bright red cape and seemed to be off to rescue someone.

"Wow, Mattie, did you do this?" Matthew nodded shyly and buried his head in the soft fur of his polar bear.

"It's so awesome, thanks!" Alfred genuinely said before putting it back in the box to protect it. He then took the last box that was left on the table. He opened it and peaked inside the box before fully opening it.

"Oh wow! These are so amazing! Wow, dad, I can't believe you made these!" Alfred exclaimed. He knew his father had made them for underneath each soldiers' boot, there were Arthur's initials painted on. Just like an artist signed his painting, he had signed the soldiers.

"It was my pleasure, Al. I hope you enjoy them."

"I sure will thanks!" The boy couldn't hold in his excitement and hugged his father. The cake was then served and Alfred sat back down to eat it.

"Papa, tu fais les meilleurs gâteaux du monde!"/ _"Papa, you make the greatest cakes in the world!"_ The birthday boy couldn't help but exclaim after the first bite. The adults chuckled at his antics; it had been a very pleasant evening.

Francis was doing a bit of light reading when Arthur walked to the bed and collapsed onto it. The Frenchman put his book aside and turned around to face his companion.

"Et puis alors? Tu es satisfait de la journée?"/ _"So, are you satisfied of the day?"_ He asked.

"Yes, I am. Everything went well once more. Now there's only you left and I haven't the slightest ideas as what to do for you." Arthur admitted. Francis chuckled lightly at this and stroked Arthur's face with the palm of his hand.

"Mon choux, je n'ai absolument besoin de rien. Tout ce qui m'importe dans la vie ce retrouve sous ce toit. N'y pense plus maintenant et dors un peu."/ _"My love, I don't need anything. Everything that is important to me is under this roof. Don't think about it anymore and get some sleep."_ Francis kissed him on the cheek and settled into his pillow.

"Do you know how incredibly sappy that just was?" The Briton asked him as he leaned back into his own pillow.

"Bien sûr, mais tu sais, on n'a pas nommé le français comme le langage de l'amour pour rien. Bonne nuit, mon cœur."/ _"Of course, but you know, they didn't name the French language the language of love for nothing. Good night, my love."_

"Yes, good night." Arthur said. As he laid his head back and the conversation replayed in his head, an idea started to form. It would take all of his willpower, but he had ten days to try and succeed. Everything would turn out fine.

**To Be Continued****…**

**I love the interactions between Francis and Arthur. Please review for the sake of Alfred's huge ego. Next up is France!**

**Started writing: November 13****th**** 2009, 7:58pm**

**Finished writing: November 17****th**** 2009, 4:55pm**

**Started typing: November 18****th**** 2009, 8:04pm**

**Finished typing: November 18****th**** 2009, 10:15pm**


	3. À la Française

**Birthday Parties**

**Chapter III: À la française**

**I'm back! Well, here is chapter three. ****So because there's just as much French as in the last chapter, if not more, I figured that I could put the translation right after the sentence and not at the end. That way, it'll make all of your lives easier. I'm sorry for the French invasion! I just couldn't help myself.**

**P.S. the cake is a real cake my mom once made when she was younger. It really took her that amount of time to make.**

**Disclaimer: Homework? What homework?**

Birthday Parties

À la française/_The French Way_

Somehow, those ten days turned into seven, then five, then three and before Arthur knew it, July 14th had crept up on him. He thought he was going to die. There was just so much left to do. Lucky for him, he had the boys to help him out in the kitchen department. His pride was taking a beating out of this since a ten year old and a nine year old were making dinner, but he wanted everything to be perfect for Francis.

So while Arthur watched over his boys, Matthew prepared some vegetable soup that Francis liked and Alfred was preparing the main course which had fish and a creamy sauce to it. Arthur was left to cut vegetables and make sure that the boys didn't injure themselves. As for the cake, well, that had been a problem.

Francis had mentioned that he had once had this very delicious apricot and dark chocolate glaze torte so Arthur had hunted down the recipe since Francis spoke so highly of it. However, when Arthur had seen the preparation time, he blanched. No one in their right state of mind spent eight and a half hours baking a cake. However, the boys really wanted to make it and it did sound delicious. Finally, Arthur had agreed as long as they did it as a team.

And so, eight hours and a half later, after having spent too much time to count in the kitchen getting a meal ready, the soup, fish, salad, cheese dish and the thirty-seven paper thin layer cake were finally ready to be served.

Lucky for them, Francis had been out all day. Arthur had sent him out to run some errands around town. Francis had seen through the ruse, but he hadn't said a word. When six o'clock came along, Francis walked in to his house to be greeted by the wonderful smell of French cuisine. His mouth started watering as he got closer to the kitchen.

"Welcome home." Arthur greeted him as he set the last dish on the table.

"Papa, Papa, sit, sit!" Alfred said as he pulled him by the hand towards the table.

"Du calme, mon homme. Il n'y a pas le feu. Est-ce que tu as aidé daddy à faire tout cela?"/_"__Calm down, my man. __There isn't a fire. Did you help daddy make all of this?"_ Francis asked their eldest as he sat him on his lap.

"Non Papa, daddy a aidé Alfred et moi à faire le repas."/ _"No Papa, daddy helped Alfred and me to make the meal."_ Matthew answered for his brother. The blonde man laughed richly at that.

"Mais ça alors! Il semble bien que nous avons deux petits chefs dans la maison. Ne tardons plus et commençons cet appétissant repas."/ _"Well, I'll be! __It looks like we have two little chefs in the house. Let us not waste anymore time and start this delicious meal."_ The children took their seats and Arthur served them the food. Francis found the meal delicious and Arthur had to admit that the boys had done an excellent job.

"Papa, tu ferais mieux d'aimer le gâteau!"/ _"Papa, you better like the cake!"_ Matthew told the birthday man once the dishes had been cleared. Arthur was placing the candles on the cake and making sure that the torte didn't look too bad.

"Oui, it took us une éternité to make!"/ _"Yeah, it took us an eternity to make!"_ Alfred piped up.

"Je suis sûr qu'il sera très bon."/ _"I'm sure that it will be quite good."_ Francis told them with a tender smile. When he saw the cake that Arthur brought in, the Frenchman's eyes widened with joy.

"Tu as trouvé la recette de ce fameux gâteau?"/ _"You found the recipe for that infamous cake?"_ He asked Arthur as he set the cake down in front of him.

"What does it look like?" He retorted. "Now, shut it and let us sing you happy birthday." They sang the song and then Francis made his wish before blowing out the candles. The boys went to get the presents and put them in front of Francis once Arthur removed the cake to cut it up.

"Merci bien, mon grand."/ _"Thank you very much, my boy."_ Francis told his eldest giving him a one armed hug once he opened the first present. It was a blue silk tie with little red triangles. The boy beamed with joy. The Frenchman put the tie back in its box and took the other slightly larger box. He gently removed the wrapping and found a beautiful painting of him and Arthur along with the children. He had his arm wrapped around Arthur's waist and his other arm was around Alfred's shoulders. Arthur was leaning against him and he had Matthew in his arms. The portrait truly resembled the perfect picture of a happy family.

"C'est très joli, Matthieu. Je vais le mettre sur ma table de chevet dans ma chambre."/ _"It's very pretty, Matthew. __I'm going to put in on my night table in my room."_ He told his youngest who looked as though he had been told that his painting was going in the most prestigious museum of the world. Francis took the last box and undid the elegant bow that had become Arthur's trademark signature for presents. He found a very elegant pen with a bottle of ink. Just the way he liked them.

"Merci, Arthur. Justement, j'en avais besoin d'un autre."/ _"Thank you, Arthur. I actually needed a new one."_ He pulled at Arthur's tie until the younger man's lips were close enough to his to give him a soft kiss. The boys turned their heads away and made gagging noises, but the adults weren't really paying attention to them. Arthur then served the cake and they waited to see what Francis thought of it.

"Mm, tout à fait splendide. Juste comme je m'en souviens. À ce qu'il parait, tout n'est pas perdu pour toi pour ce qui est du domaine de la cuisine."/ _"Mm, __simply splendid. Just the way I recall it. Apparently, not every thing is lost for you and cooking._" Francis told Arthur with a teasing smile.

"Shut it and eat your cake." The younger simply said.

Arthur was sitting in bed waiting for Francis to come and join him. The pen hadn't been the only part of his present. There was a second part to it and he was holding it in a small box. It had taken a lot of hard work from him, but he had finally succeeded.

"Est-ce que tu viens, Francis?"/ _"Are you coming, Francis?"_ The older man peeked from outside the adjacent bathroom with nothing but a towel around his waist. He looked surprised and wasn't sure if the sound of the disappearing bathwater had played a trick on him.

"Qu'est-ce que tu as dit?"/ _"What did you say?"_ He asked as he walked closer to the bed.

"Tu m'as très bien compris."/ _"You understood what I said perfectly."_ The Englishman replied slowly, sounding out every syllable.

"Depuis quand as-tu décidé de me parler en français?"/ _"Since when have you decided to start talking to me in French?"_ Francis said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. It's not that he minded the switch to his native language. After all, he did find it unexplainably endearing, romantic and arousing when Arthur started speaking French, but he couldn't help but feel slightly worried for his companion.

"Je croyais que tu m'avais dit que le français était le langage de l'amour. Joyeux anniversaire, mon chou."/ _"I thought you had told me that French was the language of love. Happy birthday, my love."_ Arthur took Francis' hands in his and placed the small box in them. The older of the two gave a quizzical look to his partner before unwrapping the box. When he opened it, he found a solitaire white choux à la crême (cream puff). He couldn't help the smile that came to his lips.

"Tu es adorable, Arthur. Tu as réussi à faire un chou juste pour moi sans le brûler?"/ _"You are adorable, Arthur. __You managed to make a cream puff just for me without burning it?" _Arthur blushed as he thought back to his adventure of making the pastry.

"J'ai dû recommencer plusieurs fois et j'en ai jeté plusieurs… C'est le seul qui n'a pas cassé et qui n'a pas brûlé."/ _"I had to start over many times and I threw away many of them out… This is the only one that didn't break and that didn't burn."_ He admitted with a chuckle.

"Je t'adore, mon chou. Merci beaucoup pour cet anniversaire parfait."/ _"I adore you, my love. Thank you for this perfect birthday."_ He kissed him tenderly on the lips before sharing the pastry with Arthur. Francis had to admit that it was the best chou he had ever had simply because it had been made with so much love.

"Bonne nuit, trésor."/ _"Good night, darling."_ He whispered to Arthur.

"Bonne nuit, Francis."/ _"Good night, Francis."_ Arthur replied as Francis snuggled up to him and placed sweet kisses along his collarbone. And as sleep started overtaking him, Arthur had to admit to himself that he had managed another year of birthdays perfectly. Now he could start planning for next year, but perhaps he would enjoy Francis' company first.

**To Be CONCLUDED****…**

**Fluff! Oh, so much fluff! The ending makes me giddy. I just find the interaction between these two so utterly adorable. So I hope that the translation reading was easier on you guys. I couldn't bring myself to tone down the French, sorry. Anyways, please keep reviewing, it makes me even giddier.**

**Started writing: November 17****th**** 2009, 4:57pm**

**Finished writing: November 17****th**** 2009, 6:23pm**

**Started typing: November 19****th**** 2009, 5:01pm**

**Finished typing: November 19****th**** 2009, 6:05pm**


	4. Repaying the English

**Birthday Parties **

**Chapter IV: Repaying the English**

**Hello everyone! Well, this is the last chapter of this story. I know, it's sad, but that just means that I can start something new! So, I looked high and low and came to the startling realization that the UK does not have a national holiday where they celebrate Britishness! How sad! The current Prime Minister is trying to pinpoint a day for that. **

**The irony is that in September, Germany celebrated a British day. Strange, I know. The only holiday type thing that they have is April 23****rd****. But that's just too far away for my story so I decided to do a "Thank you for being in our lives and we love you just the way you are" chapter instead where Francis, Matthew and Alfred thank Arthur.**

**Also, the song that is sung by Alfred and Matthew is an actual kiddie's song that I used to sing when I was young. **

**Once more, the English translations are right after the French ones (and there's less of that in this chapter, so hush, ahaha.) **

**Disclaimer: Onwards, shall we?**

Birthday Parties

Repaying the English

After all the effort that Arthur had put into their birthdays, Francis and the boys had decided that it was only fair if they did the same for the Englishman. However, because Arthur's birthday was so far away, Francis had decided to do a small "Thank-you-for-being-in-our-lives-and-we-love-you-for-being-you" party. The three of them had brainstormed long and hard on what to make for supper and they had tried to figure out what sort of small tokens of affection would convey the message that they really appreciated him.

Coming up with a menu for the celebration had proven to be somewhat difficult. Matthew and Alfred weren't too fond of Arthur's cooking and they didn't feel like having any strange English concoction for dinner. As much as Francis agreed with them, he did remind them that Arthur had made sure that they had their favourites for their birthdays so it was only fair that they do the same. Francis even went as far as to tell them that there were things from Arthur's historic cooking that they did like. Finally, the boys had relented and agreed to it as long as Francis cooked.

There was roast beef with vegetable stew along with some side dishes and for dessert; Francis made a fabulous treacle tart and pudding. The boys had to admit that the food did look rather tasty now that it wasn't quite so charred.

"You should always cook, Papa. Daddy should never set foot in the kitchen ever again." Alfred told his father once he tasted the pudding.

"Surtout, ne lui dis pas ça. Je ne crois pas que son ego puisse supporter ce genre d'insulte."/ _"Don't tell him that. __I don't think that his ego would be able to support that type of an insult."_ The Frenchman said with a smile.

"Mais Papa, Alfred à raison! At least we can tell what the food is."/ _"But Papa, Alfred is right!..." _Matthew piped in.

"Assez discuté pour l'instant. Allons retrouver notre fêté de la journée à la place."/ _"That's enough for now. __Let's go and find our celebrated man of the day instead."_ The boys followed their father out of the kitchen and found Arthur in the living room, fast asleep with a book opened on his chest. Francis sat at the edge of the couch while Alfred and Matthew peered over it.

"C'est le temps de te réveiller, mon cœur."/ _"It's time to wake up, my love."_ Francis said as he nudged Arthur awake. Green eyes opened once before blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted themselves to the lighting.

"Oh que c'est difficile de se réveiller quand on devient vieux."/ _"My is it hard to wake up when one becomes old."_ He added with a teasing smile. Arthur simply flicked his hand away and sat up.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"It's time for dinner!" Alfred said cheerily and half-dragged, half pulled him towards the kitchen table. Arthur followed his son to the kitchen, intrigued to know what all of this commotion was about.

When Arthur walked into the kitchen, he found various different dishes of food elegantly displayed on the table. Their many different smells wafted throughout the room and Arthur was slightly perplexed as to why there were English dishes on the table when his family kept on telling him that they hated it.

"What's all this for?"

"It's a party just for you, daddy!" Alfred chipped in.

"That's very nice of you, but my birthday already passed and we had had a small celebration then." Arthur reasoned with him.

"But this is a "Thank you for everything that you do for us" or something like that party." Matthew told his father. Arthur was stunned. He was deeply touched by the gesture. He looked at Francis who simply nodded and pulled him closer to him.

"B-but you didn't have to go through all of this trouble just for me. You could have just told me and…" To say that he was at a loss of words would have been putting it lightly.

"But your birthday is in forever, dad! Did you really want us to wait until then?" Alfred told him quite seriously. Arthur looked at him for a moment before pulling both Alfred and Matthew to him.

"You are simply the best." He told them.

"Nous aussi on t'aime."/ _"We love you as well."_ Francis told him with a chuckle. Arthur let go of them and they sat down in order to eat their meal. Despite the constant complaints about English cuisine being horrible, even Francis had to admit that supper had been simply succulent. He even surprised himself and took a second helping. Dinner went by pleasantly well and Arthur was happy when he saw his favourite dessert being presented to him.

"Daddy, Papa showed us a new song, listen!" Matthew said as he followed behind Francis who had the pie in his arms.

"C'est un m, un e, un r, c'est un c avec un i. Rassemblez toutes ces lettres et vous y trouverez merci, merci, merci!"/ _"It's a t, an h, an a, an n, a k. It's a y, an o and a u. Put those letters together and you will find thank you, thank you, thank you!"_ The boys sang as the tart was placed in front of Arthur who smiled approvingly at them.

"That was a lovely song and I still can't believe that you went through all of this trouble just for me."

"Tu as fait la même chose pour nous, alors c'est tout simplement naturel que nous fassions de même pour toi."/ _"You did the same thing for us, so it's only natural that we do the same for you."_ Francis told him as he handed him a dish with a piece of tart and pudding.

"Yes, but it's not even my birthday."

"Bon d'accord, la prochaine fois on ne ferra rien."/ _"Alright then, next time we won't do anything."_ Francis said back as he winked to the boys who sniggered being quite used to such conversations.

"That's not what I meant! I simply- Well, what I wanted to say was- Oh, never mind." Arthur flushed and stuttered which only caused Francis's smile to widen even more.

"Mange ta tarte, mon cœur."/ _"Eat your pie, love."_ Arthur glared at him for a second longer before diving into the treacle tart.

Once dessert was finished and the dishes had been cleared, the family moved to the living room and then Arthur was presented with three wrapped boxes of various sizes.

"You even got me presents?" He asked incredulously. He was going to go off into another tangent and say that they shouldn't have, but Francis cut him off before he could even utter another word.

"On voulait le faire et puis, ce ne sont pas de gros cadeaux de toute manière, alors tait toi."/ _"We wanted to do this and plus, these aren't big presents anyway, so shut it."_ Arthur looked at the rather large boxes and looked back at Francis sceptically.

"This box is almost as long as Matthew is tall and you're telling me that they're not big gifts? Codswallop."

"Dad, stop arguing with Papa and open them up! I wanna see what's inside!" Alfred said excitedly. Arthur shook his head and took the smaller box which happened to be from Alfred. Arthur found a set of many different exotic teas and even some of his personal favourites in a lovely little tea box.

"That's very thoughtful of you, Al, thank you." Alfred grinned at the praise. Arthur put the box aside and took the second one which rattled a bit. He wasn't sure if he should be worried or not, but seeing as it came from Matthew, he figured it was safe. He gently removed the lid off the box and found a set of six tea cups and dishes individually wrapped in tissue paper.

"These are lovely, Mattie, thank you." Arthur told his youngest who smiled back.

"It fits with Al's present. That way you can have your good tea with a new tea cup and we could all have tea together as well." The Englishman's smile widened at the thought. He truly had a wonderful family. He set the box aside and took the last, very large box.

It was heavy, but not that much that it was insupportable. He removed the ribbon, the paper and finally there was the box. He opened it and found a cloth protecting whatever was underneath it. Arthur pulled the material away and was surprised to find his old guitar starring back at him.

"Where did you find it?" He asked as he picked it up from its improvised case and put the strap around his shoulder.

"Je faisais du ménage dans la remise récemment et je l'ai retrouvé emmitouflée dans un coin. Elle était dans un piteux état et je me suis rappelé comment tu aimais cet instrument. Donc, je l'ai fait arranger. Elle est comme neuve à présent."/ _"I was cleaning up in the storage room recently and I found her half buried in a corner. She was in bad shape and then I remembered how fond you were of this instrument. So I got her tuned up. She's good as new now."_ Arthur looked at him as different emotions swam through his eyes. It had been such a long time since he had played the instrument. He started plucking at the strings as an old song came to him from his past.

"Oh, play us a song, daddy!" Matthew asked him with pleading eyes that Arthur could never say no too.

"I haven't played in ages. I'm out of practice and I'm sure it would sound horrible."

"We don't care! You used to tell us awesome stories of when you used to play. C'mon dad, please!" Alfred joined in, turning on his puppy dog eyes as well. Arthur turned to Francis in the hopes of getting some sort of support, but he found the Frenchman joining in with their sons.

"Allez mon chéri, s'il te plait."/ _"Come on darling, please."_ Arthur gave him a dirty look before adjusting a couple of strings. He started playing some notes before he found a melody and played it out. Instinctively, he started humming out the song and as he progressed through the song, he started singing it as well. By the time he was done, Arthur was completely involved with the song and he could feel that familiar energy running through him much like when he used to perform for crowds. It felt good. The boys and Francis clapped enthusiastically and the Frenchman even catcalled. Arthur blushed and thanked them.

"That was so cool! You should totally play more often!" Alfred told him after he had gotten over his excitement.

"We'll see about that." He simply answered.

"Bon, je crois qu'il est l'heure pour vous d'allez vous couchez. Demain, nous avons une grosse journée."/ _"I think it's time for you to go to bed. __Tomorrow, we have a busy day."_ Francis told their sons who only mildly protested. The boys went upstairs to change into their pyjamas while the adults lingered downstairs for a while longer before going to tuck the children in.

"Thank you again for such a lovely evening." Arthur told them as he pulled the covers over Matthew and made sure that the boy wouldn't be cold.

"You're welcome, daddy." The younger boy replied, wrapping his small arms around his father's neck and kissing him on the cheek. Arthur then went over to Alfred's bed and swapped places with Francis.

"Good night, dad." Alfred hugged him tightly before snuggling into his blankets and drifting off to sleep. Francis and Arthur closed the door behind them and went to their own bedroom down the hall. Arthur sat on the bed and took out his guitar. He passed his hand over the handle before turning around to face Francis.

"You know, I never properly thanked you for the guitar. I really appreciate it and everything else you did with the boys for me today."

"Tu peux me remercier en me jouant une autre chanson. Tu sais à quel point j'aime quand tu joues de la guitare."/ _"You can thank me by playing another song. __You know how much I love it when you play the guitar."_ Arthur sat down more comfortably and Francis scooted closer to him. He had always found Arthur's concentration while playing to be fascinating and attractive. The way he became empowered as he strummed along the song was simply divine.

Arthur was oblivious to the effect that it had on the Frenchman and he started playing the first song that came to his mind. His playing became more erratic once Francis started nibbling at his ear and whispering loving words to him as well.

"Tu es si beau quand tu joues de la guitare comme ça, Arthur."/ _"You are so beautiful when you play the guitar like that, Arthur."_ Francis purred in his ear. Arthur flushed as he felt Francis trailing hot kisses along his jaw line until his lips found the Englishman's. He then claimed Arthur's lips with his own in a passionate kiss which caused him to stop playing all together as he got swept away in the moment.

When Francis pulled away, Arthur gently leaned his guitar against the wall before lying next to Francis who wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close.

"Je t'aime, Arthur."/ _"I love you, Arthur."_ He whispered to him, his azure blue eyes speaking nothing but sincerity.

"And I as well, Francis." The Briton replied, kissing him lovingly on the lips.

**OWARI**

**Eh, it's done! It's really done! And there was fluff galore! FrancisxArthur pairing has a way of growing on you! So there you have it, the last chapter. By the way, the guitar idea and France loving that side of England is based off an idea I had for an AmericaXEngland idea that I will get to eventually. So I hope you liked it and please review!**

**Also, while I was writing out the part where Arthur plays the guitar, England's Absolutely Invincible English Gentleman was playing on my I-pod and as I'm typing this, it's playing as well. Strange coincidence!**

**A special thanks to everyone who reviewed and who will review!**

**Started writing: November 18****th**** 2009, 11:26am**

**Finished writing: November 20****th**** 2009, 12:20pm**

**Started typing: November 20****th**** 2009, 6:02pm**

**Finished typing: November 20****th**** 2009, 9:22pm**


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